Sprint is racing to catch up to larger rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which last week week exceeded its 400-market target and has more markets covered than every other carrier combined. With consumers demanding a faster connection for Web browsing, music, and video, 4G LTE has become a bigger selling point.

The capabilities of LTE have gone further mainstream thanks to the iPhone 5, which is able to tap into each of the carriers' 4G LTE network. Unfortunately for Sprint customers, a vast majority of its territory is still covered by its slower 3G network.

Sprint is also behind on getting coverage in the biggest cities, something Verizon and AT&T was sure to do early in their respective roll outs. Still, it is ahead of T-Mobile USA, which plans on starting its deployment next year.

About the author

Roger Cheng is the executive editor in charge of breaking news for CNET News. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade. He's a devoted Trojan alum and Los Angeles Lakers fan.
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